The Sun had set off the coast of Vespucci Beach; it was about eight o'clock. Night was creeping in, held at bay by the vibrant neon lights of Del Perro Pier and its world-famous boardwalk. Most criminals wouldn't emerge until after midnight, when darkness fully enveloped the city.
But the Black Skulls were different - they didn't need shadows to lurk in. They were about as untouchable as a criminal organization could be. Nothing was stopping them from committing crimes at all hours of the day or night, because even the police knew that tangling with them was suicide.
Alexia had parked her car in a lot off Marathon Avenue, across the street from the Bahama Mamas nightclub. The club wasn't open yet, but Black Skulls had already begun congregating next to it, waiting for the doors to open. They'd arrived in a melange of armored vehicles, motorcycles, and heavily modded sports cars, all of which outclassed Alexia's plain red Oracle. The occupants of these vehicles looked battle-scarred and fatigued, ready to unwind; Alexia knew that keeping the Skulls' iron grip on Los Santos wasn't some cozy office job. It was physical and grimy work running a city, even if it paid well.
She glanced in the rearview mirror at her makeup, which Jess had bought for her at a Pharaoh Cosmetics store. A little bit of blush, some maroon eye shadow and crimson lipstick, and she was unrecognizable from that skinny Midwestern kid with the thrift store clothes, the one who'd ruined the pristineness of her expensive new bathroom. In this attire, she looked like she belonged among the vibrant lights and activity of Downtown Los Santos.
For the past few minutes, she'd sat in her car talking with Jess, and the conversation had flowed well despite how short a time they'd known each other. Despite her eccentricity, Jess was completely non-judgmental, and Alexia noticed this made her very easy to talk to. When, out of curiosity, she'd asked Alexia what she'd done to get thrown in juvie, it had been hard for her to say no.
Alexia had decided to tell Jess everything about the day she'd almost murdered her classmate - not something most girls would talk about while giving each other makeovers, but the way Alexia saw it, she and Jess weren't like most other girls.
"Damn, Lexi…" Jess was hunched over her friend's left hand, brushing a coat of silver polish onto Alexia's fingernails as she listened with furrowed brows to her story.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm not proud of it," said Alexia. "I acted way out of line, and I paid the consequences for it."
"'Out of line'?" Jess perked up. "Hell no, Lexi, that bitch had it coming! I mean, how could someone bully a cutie pie like you?!" She growled at the thought. "If I'd been there, I would've ripped her tits off and shoved them down her throat!"
Alexia shook her head vigorously. "No, she didn't have it coming. There were a million different ways I could've handled that situation, and I chose the dumbest possible one. I permanently injured her, Jess."
"Well, if she didn't want retaliation, she wouldn't have bullied you," Jess said, continuing with Alexia's nails. "Like you said, everyone has their breaking point. It was her choice to push you past it."
"Sure." Alexia's eyes narrowed. "And it was my choice to let my emotions take over. I know you said I shouldn't apologize for my emotions, but I just completely lost control of myself. That's not how I wanna be."
"I hear ya', girlfriend." Jess nodded. "I don't think anybody should be bullying you, but I think it's cool of you to wanna keep your head. Not many criminals are self-aware like that."
"Well, I had a lot of time to think in juvie," Alexia remembered. "But it didn't really matter. After I got out, everyone in town still remembered what I did. I looked all over, but it was just impossible for me to find a job."
"Damn, girl, that's rough…" Jess frowned. "Is that why you moved to LS? So you could have a fresh start?"
Alexia shrugged. "Something like that. My family needed money, and my uncle told me he could help me make some…It was kind of a leap of faith, I guess."
"Well, that's a pretty big leap, Lexi." Jess closed a hand around Alexia's freshly-painted one. "You know something? It takes courage to make such a big change in your life like that…I'm super proud of you, girlfriend."
Alexia felt a rush of tingles down her back – she wasn't used to being complimented, and the surge of dopamine accompanying it wasn't something she was prepared for. Even if she hadn't known Jess for very long, her praise made Alexia feel empowered, like she'd won the favor of a cool older sister.
She was so taken aback that she didn't know what to say in response. Her instincts were telling her to deflect, in case she hadn't really earned such praise. The safest thing to do, in her mind, was to change the subject.
"So, uh, what's up with all this security, anyway?"
Alexia and Jess looked around at the parking lot they sat. Like there'd been at the street race, a few masked Skulls carrying heavy assault rifles and decked out in body armor were stationed among the partygoers. At the exit sat a black HVY Insurgent, an armored pickup truck that had a .50 caliber minigun mounted on its roof. Two Skulls occupied the Insurgent, watching for any trouble on Marathon Avenue.
"Oh, that? That's your uncle idea," said Jess. "Most of us get pretty fucked up at these parties. Alcohol, coke, amphetamines, molly, et cetera. So your uncle thinks it would be best if some of us stayed sober, just in case another crew tries to take advantage."
"Like the Roses?"
"Possibly. Them or some other chuckleheads." Jess smiled. "But lucky for us, a lot of the other crews are too scared of us to pull something like that. You shouldn't worry about it tonight."
Jess bent back over her work. She applied a second coat to the nails on Alexia's left hand, a glittery polish that made her nails sparkle in the overhead streetlights. Alexia noticed how the glittery silver matched the belt around her midsection, a nice compliment to her expensive outfit.
Alexia looked down at her nails. She had a bad habit of biting them when she was nervous, so they were a lot shorter than Jess's pink nails. However, Jess had somehow made her small, thin hands look as pretty as the rest of her.
Jess closed a hand around Alexia's. "You still feeling pretty?"
"Mm-hmm." Alexia smiled, her cheeks lighting up a bit.
"Good, because I don't want you being hard on yourself tonight," said Jess. "I want you to let loose a little and have some fun. Promise me you'll try to have fun?"
"Promise."
Alexia hooked her pinky finger with Jess's much larger one. She didn't really know what to expect from this party, but Alexia knew she had to meet some people in the Skulls. If Jess handled the introductions, then maybe, she thought, a shy girl like her could actually make some friends.
Jess exited the car, Alexia following close behind. She carried the expensive black handbag on her right shoulder, which had her pistol and ammo tucked inside – despite the heavy security, having a concealed weapon brought Alexia comfort. Besides, she figured most of the revelers at this illicit gathering would probably be strapped.
The girls' heels clicked against the worn asphalt as they walked. Two more Insurgents were parked at either end of the street, blocking off traffic on Marathon Avenue leading to the club. Two pedestrians, a skinny bearded man and his girlfriend, that had gotten too close to the roadblock were being screamed at and pushed around by the masked guards. They left in a hurry, sprinting down Marathon as the Skulls aimed automatic weapons at them.
Alexia didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand, she was glad her uncle took safety at these events so seriously. But she was also remembering their shooting lessons a decade ago, wherein Remus had taught her to never use her guns to bully others. She'd believed him back then, but at that moment, seeing the terrified couple running and her crewmates shouting obscenities at them, she realized he probably hadn't practiced what he'd preached. More likely, he'd just been trying to steer his beloved niece away from crime, and she hadn't listened.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Alexia knew as well as anyone that she couldn't change the past. The only thing she could do was to try and survive for as long as she could so that her brothers would be okay.
Alexia and Jess joined a stream of Skulls flooding into the nightclub. Another guard in a skull mask was stationed by the front door, but wasn't carding anyone before letting them in. She doubted anyone in the crew would care that she was still too young to drink.
Jess took Alexia's hand, guiding her through the mass of people. The thumping bass felt like the approaching footsteps of some monster from within the dark depths of the club. The air reeked of hair gel, cigarettes, and a hint of gunpowder, probably from the clothes of her crewmates she was bumping shoulders with.
As the bass vibrated through her feet, Alexia's nerves were inundated by the vibrant smells and the noise. Neon blue lights overhead pierced through the blackness, but after spending all day in the Los Santos sun, Alexia had trouble seeing more than two feet away.
Luckily, Jess seemed to know her way around the nightclub. She guided Alexia to an oasis in the churning sea of Skulls. She quickly found them a place at the bar near the dance floor, which Alexia noticed was already packed with Skulls.
"How you feeling, Lexi?!" Jess had to yell over the music.
"I-I'm okay!" Alexia smiled and gave a thumbs up.
"I'll order a drink for you, if you want! I know the best cocktails in this place!"
"Fine by me!"
Jess had read Alexia's mind – she had no idea how to order drinks at a bar, so she was beyond grateful Jess was there to help her out.
Jess waved to the bartender, a younger woman with dark hair and olive skin who was wearing little more than a string bikini. A couple of the other Skulls whistled as she walked by.
"Welcome to Bahama Mamas. What can I get you ladies?"
"Hey there, sugar," Jess said with a grin. "Can we get two cosmos, please?"
"Of course." The bartender smiled back. "Anything else?"
"Nah, that's it for now." Jess reached into her purse and fetched a twenty-dollar bill. "Also, can you bounce up and down for me while you shake 'em?"
"Absolutely." The bartender took Jess's money and stuffed it in her bikini bottom. "Those will be right out, okay?"
"Appreciate it."
The bartender walked away to take the orders of another group of Skulls. Alexia met eyes with one of them – she immediately recognized this one as Reese, the bookie from the street race. He and a group of friends were a few seats away, laughing at some joke that Alexia hadn't heard, but Reese stopped laughing when he appeared to recognize her, despite her new haircut.
She flashed a peace sign at him without smiling, a gesture he returned half-heartedly before looking away, trying his best to ignore her. His face suggested her presence irritated him, but he wasn't going to let that spoil the evening.
To distract herself from her mounting anxiety, Alexia looked around at the nightclub. Through the smoky, neon-lit haze, she made out a few tables occupied by Skulls, many of whom were snorting lines of powder off glass tabletops. This seemed to confirm Alexia's fear: drugs were important in socializing within the crew. She was willing to try one or two drinks, but she couldn't imagine herself snorting coke or injecting crap into her arm, even if drugs would make her as fun and outgoing as Jess.
The music stopped for a moment and cheers erupted from the dance floor. Jess sighed, clapping her hands on her thighs.
"God, this is gonna be a hell of a night. You ever partied before, Alexia?"
"Not really," Alexia murmured.
"Well, don't worry. I can show you how it's done." Jess wrapped an arm around her nervous friend. "Let's get a few drinks in you first though. It might help your anxiety a bit."
"Maybe." Alexia swallowed. "Just a couple, right?"
"Exactly, just a couple. No drama, nice and relaxed."
Alexia nodded, but from the dreamy tone of her friend's voice, she had a feeling that 'just a couple' was more of a suggestion than a rule.
A fashionably late group of Skulls started flooding into Bahama Mamas. Unlike at the street race, the crowd was an equal mix of men and women, although most of the women didn't look like they were in the crew- they instead looked like girls the other Skulls had picked up on the way. She didn't see Lamar in the crowd, nor did she see the little girl, Noël. However, given the sheer amount of drugs that were present, she hoped Noël had decided to skip out on this gathering.
Occasionally, someone would yell a greeting at Jess, but she gave only passing waves in response. She was intensely focused on the bartender who, as instructed, was bouncing up and down on her toes as she mixed the two cosmos, her breasts barely contained by the black bikini top she was wearing.
Jess smiled and leaned over the bar. Alexia noticed that her friend's face was a lot like that mechanic at LS Customs that had asked her out. It also matched the expressions of the other Skulls at the bar who were enjoying the show.
The bartender worked too fast for Alexia to see what she'd used in the drinks, which she strained into cocktail glasses. She plopped on a couple of lime wedges as garnishes before serving them.
"You two hotties enjoy," said the bartender. "Holler if you need anything else, okay?"
The girl went to take orders from her section of the bar. Alexia looked down into her very first alcoholic drink – it was a very girly shade of pink, suspended in the neon-tinted air by the stem of her cocktail glass. In the darkness, it looked more like a freshly bloomed carnation than a drink.
Jess grabbed hold of her drink, balancing the pink liquid inside like a pro. Alexia did the same.
"To your good health, madame," Jess proclaimed. "Let your adventures with us Skulls be ones of unimaginable splendor."
"I-I'll drink to that." Alexia smiled. "Cheers."
The girls clinked the lips of their glasses together and each took a sip.
Alexia took in just enough of the drink that she could get a decent taste. She was immediately struck by how sweet it was, although the lime added just a hint of acidity. There was also a more foreign taste, probably the alcohol, that was masked by the other flavors but left a warm, cozy feeling that spread rapidly through her chest, along with the reoccurrence of the heavy bass.
She swallowed, looking up at Jess. "It's pretty good, actually."
"Don't be fooled by the taste, there's a decent amount of booze in there," said Jess. "Just drink it slow and you'll be fine."
Alexia smiled, nodding as she took another sip and the warmth came back to her chest. She was no longer a stranger to alcohol, the substance that had ensnared her mother for the past two decades. Part of her had been expecting it to taste rancid – her mother always got so mean after she drank that, as a kid, Alexia had assumed she just hated the taste and was taking her anger out on her kids.
But the more sips she took, the more Alexia realized this wasn't the case. She found herself wanting to drink more, but she forced herself to put her glass down between sips.
"Yo, Jess!"
Jess gasped as a man approached them from across the bar. She immediately reached up and hugged him, squealing into his chest.
"Oh, thank God! I-I heard some shit went down, D, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay, Jess," said the man, whose thick Liberty accent made him sound like a mobster. "I killed the target, but his friends saw me trying to get out. Bastards blew up my car, so I had to hide out for a couple days up in Paleto Forest. I had to steal an RV to get back to the city."
"Well, you could've called for backup!" Jess protested. "I would've flown in with my Buzzard and got you!"
"I didn't have cell connection up there." He sighed, looking Jess in the face. "But…yeah, maybe I should've gone in with a team. I just thought it'd be cleaner doing it myself."
"This 'lone wolf' crap is gonna get you killed one day," Jess said, pouting. "Next time, you call or radio me right away."
"I will. Promise."
Jess sniffled and hugged the man tighter as Alexia sipped her drink, unsure if she should butt in. This man and Jess were obviously close, and he looked like he had just gotten back from some kind of war – he was decked out in body armor and black tactical clothes and carried an assault rifle on his back, but Alexia had trouble telling what gun it was through the darkness.
"Well, I'm super glad you're okay, D," said Jess. "You ready to party tonight?"
"Yeah." The man stretched a bit. "Now that my contract's complete, I'm ready to let loose."
"You'd better, Mister Hardass." Jess punched him in the chest. "Come and meet my new friend. This is Alexia - Lexi, this is Damien. We go way back."
"What's up?"
Damien nodded at Alexia, and she nodded back, a timid smile wavering on her face. She was trying her hardest to make eye contact since this guy looked like a professional, a good contact for her to have.
"Alexia here just joined the crew yesterday," Jess informed him. "I've been hanging out with her, showing her around the city."
"Well, I gotta say, you chose the right person for that," he said to Alexia. "So, I'm guessing the initiation didn't scare you too bad?"
Alexia shook her head. Her eye contact faltered a bit as she spoke. "Well, I-I'm still getting used to everything…My uncle has a lot of faith in me though, so I'm gonna try not to let him down."
"Oh, so you're the boss's niece." Damien's eyes lit up. "Well, he's been telling us higher-ups a lot about you. If he's got faith in you, you really can't get a better recommendation in this city. I think you'll be okay."
"Th-thanks."
Blood rushed to Alexia's face. Hearing that from a veteran crew member meant a lot to her, but she didn't know if it was appropriate to let that show.
She also didn't know if she should let slip that she found this guy extremely handsome. She'd always had a thing for tall, military-looking guys who knew their way around a gun, but Alexia figured she shouldn't let him know that.
One of the men sitting beside them laughed. "Hey, D-Man, welcome back. Did you hear about the street race last night? The stink that girl caused?"
"No, what happened?"
A murmur arose around Reese, which quickly died away so he could explain. Reese looked at Alexia as he began, making her blood turn to ice.
"Well, this one's got a real unconventional idea of how races work! She crashes the other initiate out and knocks her out, then takes her in her car and crosses the fucking finish line with her! The race ended in a tie, and we had to refund everyone's bets!"
"What?"
Damien's eyes went wide. He looked like he didn't know what to say as Alexia slinked down in her seat, her face turning deep red.
Reese took a long sip of Pisswasser. "Yeah. She's pretty soft around the edges for a Black Skull. Maybe the boss thinks he can whip her into shape, but I doubt it. She doesn't have what it takes to be one of us."
"BULL-FUCKING-SHIT SHE DOESN'T!" Jess screamed, pointing at her friend. "I'll have you know that this girl is a killing machine! She's already killed, like, four people today!"
Reese and his friends looked at each other for a second, then simultaneously burst into howling, drunken laughter.
Alexia clenched her fists in her lap. In her mind, she repeated: backbone, backbone, backbone. She'd stood up for herself at the street race, but in the dark, loud nightclub that reeked of sweat and nicotine, her senses were so overloaded that she couldn't find her backbone. The fact that it had gone missing in front of the soldier-looking guy, Damien, only embarrassed her more, forcing her into silence.
Even Jess looked at Alexia, expecting her to say something in her own defense, but nothing came out. She pulled her friend close.
"I'm telling the truth! You guys didn't hear about Morningwood? That Mexican restaurant?"
"Yeah. Some Roses tried to rob the place and got their asses handed to 'em by a couple of customers." Reese chuckled a bit, taking another swig of beer. "You're gonna tell me that was you two?"
"Nope." Jess shook her head. "I was in the ladies' room taking a dump. It was all this girl right here, baby."
"Jess…" Alexia slouched in her seat.
"No, Lexi, this is important. You don't have to take crap from these guys, not when you're doing so well."
"You're telling me this pipsqueak killed three Roses all by herself? Including a lieutenant?" Reese said through laughter. "Damien, you believe this nonsense?"
"It's true, D," said Jess. "You and me have seen a ton of rookies come through here, but I think Lexi can do great things in the Skulls. She doesn't need certain assholes talking shit to her!" She shouted this at the men, who laughed harder in response.
Alexia could feel Damien's eyes studying her. She knew she wasn't giving off the image of a killer, so she couldn't blame him for being skeptical. Above all, she was mad at herself for letting her anxiety win, forcing Jess to stand up for her like she was six years old.
"I mean, I've seen crazier things happen," she heard Damien say. "You heard what the boss has been saying about her all these weeks, and now Jess is thinking the same things? If nothing else, I'd say she knows how to make an impression."
Alexia looked up at Damien, who flashed her a smile. She blinked, more color rushing to her face as she smiled back. She'd been fully expecting him to turn on her after learning about the race, like most of the others had done.
But then again, she supposed Damien hadn't placed any money on the outcome. He wouldn't have as much of a reason to be mad.
Reese cleared his throat. "She made an impression, alright. A lot of us were wondering if she'd even make it through her first job."
"Well, she did, as you can see," said Jess. "And she'll make it through hundreds more jobs with us. Right, Lexi?"
Alexia nodded, her fingers relaxing as she smoothed the hem of her dress. She was beyond grateful for Jess and Damien backing her up, since it had given her the time she'd needed to locate her backbone. She could feel her lungs fill up with air and the heat dissipate from her cheeks as she remembered Jess's advice: don't be so hard on yourself.
She straightened up. Even if she still didn't fully believe in herself, maybe at least projecting some confidence would translate into actual confidence.
"Look, last night was just…a misunderstanding of the rules," she said slowly, meeting Reese's eyes. "My uncle wouldn't have recruited me if I didn't have what it takes."
Jess smiled and squeezed Alexia's shoulder. "Yeah, Reese. You gonna keep questioning the boss's judgement, or are you gonna give Lexi a break? She's trying her best here."
"Alright, alright." Reese sighed. "Look, you guys know how much I care about the crew, right? How many years of my life I've dedicated to making sure we rule the streets?"
A chorus of 'damn right's and 'hell yeah's erupted from Reese's friends. He kept going.
"If someone new joins the party, I'm cool with that, so long as they can put the Skulls before their own bullshit sense of morality…So, you think you can do that, kid?" he asked Alexia.
She nodded firmly. "I'll put the crew first from here on out. You have my word."
"Good, 'cause everyone here at this bar is gonna hold you to it. You have my word on that." Reese elbowed one of his buddies. "C'mon, let's go hit the dance floor."
"We're watching you, girl." Another of Reese's friends signaled to Alexia. "Remember, no more charity work."
"Oh, put a sock in it, dumbass," Jess retorted, holding Alexia closer.
Reese's group left with their drinks in tow. As soon as they were out of sight, Alexia let herself slouch and took a much longer sip of her cosmo. She couldn't help but notice how the alcohol immediately calmed her nerves.
"Good job, Lexi." Jess patted her friend on the back and looked up at Damien. "You see this, D? She may look all cute and innocent, but this girl is a badass. She stood up to Reese last night too."
"Well, like I said, she can definitely make an impression." Damien looked hard at Alexia. "So, that was true? You really killed three Roses all by yourself?"
Alexia hesitated a bit before nodding. "I-I didn't know who they were until Jess told me."
"Well, we've been scrapping with those sons of bitches for years. In my book, three less of them to deal with is welcome news." He smiled. "And hey, not many rookies could go three-on-one with the Roses and live to tell about it. You should be proud of yourself, kid."
Damien offered his hand to Alexia, which she shook. His palm was hot and bumpy with callouses, his grip so strong that it felt like the bones in her wrist were being crushed. She tried not to wince though – she wanted this guy to think she was tough and capable, that she wasn't soft around the edges.
Alexia heard shouts from behind her and men calling for Damien, ice-cold beers in their hands. He smiled a bit.
"Alright, I think some drunken hooligans are calling my name. I'd better jet – it was good to meet you, Alexia."
"Y-yeah, likewise." Alexia smiled up at him.
"I'd better see you on the dance floor tonight, D," said Jess. "I know how you usually are at these parties."
"Oh, I'm gonna try my best, Jess." Damien stood up from the bar. "See you over there in a bit?"
"For sure."
Jess opened her arms, and Damien swooped in for another quick hug. She held Damien's head to her chest – a little closer than 'just friends' would hug, in Alexia's view - before he left the bar, wading through the sea of humanity to get to his friends.
As he left, Alexia finally made out the gun on his back – an Advanced Rifle, another product of Vom Feuer. Like the Carbine Rifle, this gun was also chambered for 5.56, but it had a higher rate of fire and was very lethal at short range. However, its shorter length made it far less accurate than a Carbine Rifle. The position of the trigger guard also meant there were no aftermarket grips for this weapon, like there were with other assault rifles of its class.
Looking to her right, Alexia couldn't help but notice the distant look in Jess's eyes, like she was remembering something heavy.
"Sorry," Jess said, returning to her drink. "Like I said, me and Damien go way back. I've known him since I first joined the Skulls..." She squinted at her friend. "Alexia, are you blushing?"
Alexia shook her head rapidly. She instinctively reached for her hair, then realized she couldn't hide her face behind her bangs anymore. Instead, she reached for her cocktail glass and took a sip. Her face was a similar shade to the drink in her hand.
Jess snorted as she chuckled. "I mean, I can't say I blame you. Once upon a time, me and him were a couple. We broke up about a year ago, and it was pretty messy how that ended – a bunch of fighting, name-calling, petty bullshit like that. But a few months back, we kinda made up and decided to be friends again." She patted Alexia's hand. "Damien's a really good friend to have, Lexi. He's a gentleman, and that's super rare in this line of work."
Alexia nodded. "I mean, he seems nice…"
"Yeah. And he's single, too." Jess winked at her. "You should ask him for his number tonight."
"For his…?"
Alexia blushed further. A shot of fear ran down her spine as she imagined herself going up to Damien, asking for his number and stumbling over her words like a moron. She took a prolonged sip of her cosmo.
"Ooh, you're running low, Lexi," said Jess. "Let's get you another."
Looking down at her glass, noticing for the first time that it was mostly empty. Her vision quickly began to swim, the muscles in her jaw stung as she teetered in her seat. Her cheeks felt hot, but she didn't know if this was the embarrassment, or the alcohol she'd drunk way too quickly.
Jess summoned the bartender and ordered another round of cosmos, along with a couple glasses of ice water. The drinks arrived quickly, and Alexia gulped her water, hoping this would abate the tipsiness. She wasn't full-on wasted yet, but the buzz was coming on strong, much stronger than a lightweight like her was used to.
"You okay?" Jess frowned. "You look super nervous."
"I, uh…" Alexia blinked hard, trying to steady her vision. "I…don't know if I can do it, Jess."
"What?" Jess looked surprised. "But you were just talking to him, Lexi. You were doing great."
"Yeah, but…I-I don't know how to approach something like that," Alexia admitted. "If I just go up and ask him that, he's gonna think I'm some weirdo."
"You're overthinking it." Jess took her stammering friend's hand. "Getting a guy's number is super easy. All you have to do is pay them a little compliment, and they'll be like putty in your hands."
"A…compliment?"
"Guys don't really like to compliment each other, especially not the big manly men in this crew. So if a girl walks up and says some nice things to them, it's gonna make 'em feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What's one thing you noticed about Damien?"
"I…noticed that gun he was carrying. That Advanced Rifle."
"There ya' go." Jess grinned. "Compliment his taste in weapons. That's one of the best fucking things you can say to a criminal."
Alexia only realized the inherent genius of her idea after Jess had pointed it out. The alcohol was making her brain feel like it was rocking back and forth in her skull, but after a while the motion became calming, like she was on a ship in a gently rolling sea.
At that moment, she noticed how much less anxious she was. Despite all the people, the noise, the overwhelming scents in the air, she felt strangely chilled-out, like she suddenly lived for these kinds of parties. She laid eyes on the dance floor to her right, at the carefree mass of people there having a good time. Damien was among the crowd on the periphery of the dance floor but was gradually being swallowed up by the others.
She felt she had to take the chance while she still had it, while her backbone was fortified by booze. Alexia began chugging her cosmo until it was about half empty and then stood up, using the bar to steady herself.
"Watch my drink, Jess. I'm going in."
"WOOP WOOP!" Jess pumped her fists. "You want me to go with you?"
Alexia shook her head. "I'll let you know how it goes after."
"Well, I can't see him resisting you because you're totally adorable," said Jess. "But regardless, I wish you luck."
Jess offered her knuckles, which Alexia bumped before stumbling her way from the bar.
Alexia proceeded carefully up a couple of lit-up steps, which led to a packed dance floor. To her left was an elevated platform occupied by the DJ, another Skull who wore a glittery version of the crew's standard mask. He was joined on his altar by a couple of Bahama Mamas employees gyrating to the music, encouraging the sea of Skulls below them to dance.
Putting a hand to her chest, Alexia noticed she wasn't having any physical symptoms of anxiety – no rapid breathing, no tightening of the chest or profuse sweating. This made it much easier for her to focus on her objective: getting a guy's number for the first time in her life.
It was hard for her to see through the other Skulls, most of whom were much taller than she was. Eventually, she saw Damien off with his guy friends near the DJ, amber beer bottles glinting in their hands as they vibed casually to the music. A couple of girls ventured over, trying to get their attention. Damien seemed to hesitate at first, but his friends didn't hesitate in pushing him toward the girls, who were swiveling their hips with playful smiles and attempting to grind on him.
Alexia's breath hitched – those girls were way hotter than she was. If she wanted to get Damien's attention, she would have to act quickly.
She looked down at the expensive dress she was wearing. Her hands gripped into fists as she took a step toward the group, still unsure what her plan was. She was so focused on Damien that she didn't see the empty beer bottle her foot landed on, which rolled across the floor as she tried to regain her balance. She flailed her arms and stumbled in her heels before crashing face-first to the floor.
Pain flooded through her cheekbones and into her nostrils. She tried to push herself up off the neon-lit dance floor, but she ended up stumbling again, tripping over her own heels. The drunkenness was making it hard to do anything except lie there among the feet of the other partygoers, who were either too high or too indifferent to notice her.
"Hey! You alright?"
Alexia picked her head up. Damien was standing over her, his brow creased with concern, offering her a hand. As he hauled her to her feet, Alexia couldn't help but marvel at how strong he was, lifting her one-hundred-pound self effortlessly with just one arm.
Something warm was trickling down the lower part of her face. Out of instinct, she put her fingers to her upper lip and felt the stickiness of fresh blood.
"You took a hell of a spill, kid!" Damien yelled. "How many have you had, anyway?"
"J…just a couple." Alexia groaned in pain as she pinched her nose shut.
Damien smiled sympathetically, patting her on the back. "C'mon, I'll take you back to Jess!"
He signaled back to the two girls, who shot annoyed looks at Alexia for robbing them of their prey. Alexia wanted to apologize, but she figured doing so would just bring the mood down even more. Instead, she looked toward her feet as she followed Damien.
As they descended back to the bar area, Alexia reached in her purse and fetched one of Jess's handkerchiefs, which she used to plug the steady trickle of blood from her nose. Her first time on a dance floor hadn't gone to plan, but despite that, she'd still succeeded – Damien was paying attention to her. She had the perfect forum to talk to him if she wanted to.
There was just one problem: the fall had shaken up her memory, and in her drunken state, she couldn't remember what she'd wanted to tell Damien. She knew she'd wanted to compliment him on something, but what this something was escaped her. The way she saw it, Damien was tall, muscular, confident, and extremely kind for helping her. He was everything she wasn't, and there were many potential compliments she could throw his way.
Alexia walked beside Damien down the two steps, and she noticed his chiseled jawline and brown stubble, framed perfectly by the lights below their feet. Alexia could feel her heart fluttering in her chest as she stood next to him, short and scrawny and insignificant.
God, he and Jess must have been like a movie star couple, she thought to herself. Do I even have a chance right now?
Screw it.
"D-Damien?"
"Yeah? What is it?" Damien stopped walking.
Alexia swallowed, feeling the blood trickle down her throat and the liquid courage pumping through her veins. "I, uh…Thank you for helping me!"
"Don't mention it," said Damien. "We're not exactly good people here in the Skulls, but…we look out for each other."
"Well, I appreciate it!" Alexia smiled. "You're very strong, by the way, to lift me up like that! I wish I had muscles like yours!"
"Uhh, thanks?" Damien laughed a bit.
"You're welcome!" Alexia sniffed. "Y-you know where the bathroom is?"
"Yeah, right over there." Damien pointed back toward the main entrance, where two neon-lit signs illuminated the men's and women's restrooms.
"Okay, well, I think I'm gonna get myself cleaned up! Sorry for interrupting y-!"
Suddenly, the steady bass from the dance floor was undercut by what sounded like someone doing a drum roll, followed by several more drums banging in unison. Alexia turned her head toward the sound, which was much louder and more forceful than the music, a sharp staccato that was soon joined by several others in the same chaotic jumble.
Alexia's stomach clenched – she knew what this sound was. She'd recognized it long before people on the dance floor started falling over, their bodies contorted and their limbs mangled by the barrage of high-velocity rounds, 7.62 bullets by the dark, hollow sound they made. Based on the rate of fire – perhaps thousands of rounds per minute – Alexia knew this wasn't any ordinary machine gun being fired.
These were miniguns. They were all firing at once, turning her crewmates on the dance floor into paste.
"Fuck! EVERYONE FALL BACK!". Damien drew his Advanced Rifle from his back and started shooting. "ALEXIA, GO! GET OUTTA HERE!"
Skulls were yelling across to each other. They were trying to set up a defensive line as people scrambled over the bodied of their crewmates, slipping on freshly-spilled blood as they fled the dance floor.
Alexia didn't have a death wish – she knew the pistol in her handbag would be useless against a minigun. She fell back behind Damien, pushed by the rush of humanity making for the exit. She frantically scanned the crowd for Jess, but she couldn't see her friend through thick clouds of gunsmoke.
She noticed that not everyone at the party had brought their weapons inside. Only Damien and a few others had assault rifles – the rest of the Skulls shooting at the attackers had only small arms such as Micro SMGs. These too had little chance of taking on a minigun. Equally hopeless were the many other Skulls lying tucked away in their booths, too high on alcohol and other substances to realize they were being attacked.
The drum roll sound grew louder and louder until Alexia's ears stung. She was about to turn around for the exit when she noticed another commotion from behind her.
Two men were standing in the doorway, some of the armored skull-masked guards she'd seen earlier. Their assault rifles were drawn and they were firing, but they weren't shooting at the assailants on the dance floor. Instead, they were shooting directly into the crowd of fleeing Skulls, killing many of the first people who'd made for the exit.
Alexia blinked, and the image was the same – the Skulls were being massacred by their own security guards. She had no idea why this was, but at that moment, survival and the insanely loud gunfire was making it impossible to think.
Alexia felt the heat of bullets as they ricocheted off the walls and the floor. She instinctively put her hands over her head as another surge of humanity pushed her back away from the exit, so tight now that her chest was compressed and she couldn't breathe. She found herself cornered by the assault rifles at the front and minigun fire at the back.
The people right in front of her were being mowed down by the guards. The bullets were about to reach her when she felt herself being picked up off the ground. Damien was carrying her over his shoulder, hurtling her through the crowd and back toward the rear of the club.
Questions ran through Alexia's mind at breakneck speed. Had the club's security detail mutinied against the Skulls? Why would they be massacring their own crewmates? How was she going to find Jess in all this chaos?
And most importantly, how was she going to survive the night?